John Hickenlooper

August 7, 2012 | By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times

DENVER - As he ran for governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper played up his goofy charm, standing in a shower fully clothed in a campaign ad, vowing to run a "clean" campaign. The rail-thin former geologist still mocks his nerdiness - how he peered out at the world from behind thick glasses "before the miracle of Lasik. " But during this state's difficult summer, Hickenlooper has demonstrated another side of his persona, offering Coloradans solace and comfort after the July 20 movie theater shooting in Aurora that killed 12 and wounded 58. At Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora on July 27, relatives asked Hickenlooper to speak about 18-year-old Alexander "A.J.

A 17-year-old high school student remained in critical but stable condition Sunday as Colorado officials tried to understand why a fellow student shot her and tried to shoot his debate coach before committing suicide last week. Two days after the shooting at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, the wounded student, Claire Davis, was in a coma at Littleton Adventist Hospital, her family said in a statement released through the hospital's Facebook page Sunday evening. "The first responders got Claire to the right place, at the right time, and the doctors and hospital staff are doing a wonderful job taking care of her," said the statement, which requested privacy.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will travel to Colorado on Sunday to meet with families of the victims of the Aurora movie theater shooting rampage, the White House announced Saturday. He will also meet with local and state officials on his visit, which he is making ahead of a previously scheduled three-day trip to Western states for official and campaign events. The president cut short a campaign trip in Florida on Friday after learning of the tragedy and returned to the White House for meetings with senior officials to discuss the situation.

Tom Clements was memorialized as a man of vision as top state officials, family members and friends said farewell on Monday to the Colorado prisons chief slain last week. “He was a great man, a great leader, a voice of reason and wisdom,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who hired Clements. “Without question, he was one of the finest people I have ever worked with. “His energy was tireless. He was always, always moving forward,” the governor told mourners inside a packed New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

DENVER -- Need more hype? Still convinced tonight's first presidential debate won't matter? A newly released survey of undecided voters in four Western states -- two of them battlegrounds -- suggests the import the University of Denver matchup has for those still persuadables. More than seven in 10 respondents in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico said they would tune in for the 90-minute session, belying the image of undecideds as inattentive or turned off by politics. Fully 76% of those surveyed said they would definitely vote Nov. 6 and more than four in 10 said the debates would have the single greatest influence on their decision.

July 27, 2012 | By Ashley Powers and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

AURORA, Colo. - Theater shooting victims and their loved ones marched through the rituals of mourning and recovery here Thursday, with funerals for two of the 12 dead, a vigil, and fundraising to help pay for medical care and burials. The Aurora Victim Relief Fund, set up by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Denver-based Community First Foundation, has received more than $2 million in donations since a gunman sprayed a crowded movie theater with bullets last week. At least five of the 58 injured remain in critical condition.

The day after a mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater killed 12 and injured 58 others, the investigation continues Saturday as authorities try to enter the suspect's booby-trapped apartment and family members receive word of their relatives' fates. Aurora, Colo., has been reeling in the aftermath of the shooting at the midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” in which police say 24-year-old James E. Holmes opened fire in the crowded multiplex theater, dressed in black and wearing bullet-resistant gear.

Tom Clements was memorialized as a man of vision as top state officials, family members and friends said farewell on Monday to the Colorado prisons chief slain last week. “He was a great man, a great leader, a voice of reason and wisdom,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who hired Clements. “Without question, he was one of the finest people I have ever worked with. “His energy was tireless. He was always, always moving forward,” the governor told mourners inside a packed New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

AURORA, Colo. - The funeral-goers began weeping almost as soon as they stepped into the church. Near the sanctuary entrance was the open casket of Alexander J. Boik, a recent high school graduate who loved pottery and baseball and dreamed of teaching art. Better known as A.J., Boik was one of the 12 people gunned down a week ago during a late-night screening of the new Batman movie here. His funeral Friday at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, where he'd been baptized and received his First Communion, was a poignant remembrance of a teenager on the cusp of manhood.

Now pot-smokers can light up in Colorado too. A proclamation from Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday made Colorado the second state -- after Washington on Thursday -- to legalize possession, home growth and personal use of marijuana. Hickenlooper certified a November voter referendum that enshrined marijuana in the state constitution. It passed with 55% of the vote. The governor -- who opposed Amendment 64 along with Colorado's attorney general and Denver's mayor -- had earlier cautioned smokers not to "break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly.

Colorado officials Wednesday searched for clues and a motive to explain why the executive director of the state Department of Corrections was shot and killed when he answered the front door of his house, officials said. Tom Clements, 58, was shot around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at his home in Monument, Colo., according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "There is no evidence of a home invasion," spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said in televised interviews. "Whether he was specifically targeted or this was random, we don't know.

Now pot-smokers can light up in Colorado too. A proclamation from Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday made Colorado the second state -- after Washington on Thursday -- to legalize possession, home growth and personal use of marijuana. Hickenlooper certified a November voter referendum that enshrined marijuana in the state constitution. It passed with 55% of the vote. The governor -- who opposed Amendment 64 along with Colorado's attorney general and Denver's mayor -- had earlier cautioned smokers not to "break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly.

DENVER -- Need more hype? Still convinced tonight's first presidential debate won't matter? A newly released survey of undecided voters in four Western states -- two of them battlegrounds -- suggests the import the University of Denver matchup has for those still persuadables. More than seven in 10 respondents in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico said they would tune in for the 90-minute session, belying the image of undecideds as inattentive or turned off by politics. Fully 76% of those surveyed said they would definitely vote Nov. 6 and more than four in 10 said the debates would have the single greatest influence on their decision.

August 7, 2012 | By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times

DENVER - As he ran for governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper played up his goofy charm, standing in a shower fully clothed in a campaign ad, vowing to run a "clean" campaign. The rail-thin former geologist still mocks his nerdiness - how he peered out at the world from behind thick glasses "before the miracle of Lasik. " But during this state's difficult summer, Hickenlooper has demonstrated another side of his persona, offering Coloradans solace and comfort after the July 20 movie theater shooting in Aurora that killed 12 and wounded 58. At Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora on July 27, relatives asked Hickenlooper to speak about 18-year-old Alexander "A.J.

July 27, 2012 | By Ashley Powers and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

AURORA, Colo. - Theater shooting victims and their loved ones marched through the rituals of mourning and recovery here Thursday, with funerals for two of the 12 dead, a vigil, and fundraising to help pay for medical care and burials. The Aurora Victim Relief Fund, set up by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Denver-based Community First Foundation, has received more than $2 million in donations since a gunman sprayed a crowded movie theater with bullets last week. At least five of the 58 injured remain in critical condition.

AURORA, Colo. - The funeral-goers began weeping almost as soon as they stepped into the church. Near the sanctuary entrance was the open casket of Alexander J. Boik, a recent high school graduate who loved pottery and baseball and dreamed of teaching art. Better known as A.J., Boik was one of the 12 people gunned down a week ago during a late-night screening of the new Batman movie here. His funeral Friday at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, where he'd been baptized and received his First Communion, was a poignant remembrance of a teenager on the cusp of manhood.

Colorado officials Wednesday searched for clues and a motive to explain why the executive director of the state Department of Corrections was shot and killed when he answered the front door of his house, officials said. Tom Clements, 58, was shot around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at his home in Monument, Colo., according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "There is no evidence of a home invasion," spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said in televised interviews. "Whether he was specifically targeted or this was random, we don't know.

Two months ago, many political professionals were chortling at Tom Tancredo's third-party bid to become Colorado governor. The former firebrand Republican congressman said he was the only conservative who could stop the Democrats from winning the seat after a scandal-plagued "tea party" candidate unexpectedly captured the GOP nomination. Tancredo's volatile rhetoric on illegal immigration and calls to bomb Mecca have won him passionate followers, but also high unfavorability ratings in the state.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will travel to Colorado on Sunday to meet with families of the victims of the Aurora movie theater shooting rampage, the White House announced Saturday. He will also meet with local and state officials on his visit, which he is making ahead of a previously scheduled three-day trip to Western states for official and campaign events. The president cut short a campaign trip in Florida on Friday after learning of the tragedy and returned to the White House for meetings with senior officials to discuss the situation.

The day after a mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater killed 12 and injured 58 others, the investigation continues Saturday as authorities try to enter the suspect's booby-trapped apartment and family members receive word of their relatives' fates. Aurora, Colo., has been reeling in the aftermath of the shooting at the midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” in which police say 24-year-old James E. Holmes opened fire in the crowded multiplex theater, dressed in black and wearing bullet-resistant gear.